Makers Central – May 2025 – NEC

Makers Central – NEC Birmingham: 17th & 18th May 2025

My first time attending Makers Central at the NEC – and in the UK – and it didn’t disappoint.

Setup – Friday 16th May: The NEC can be a bit of a maze to get around, and it is a bit convoluted to get to the loading door around the back of the complex. All the security were helpful though and we managed to navigate around, once at the door it was fairly simple getting in and our booth wasn’t too far. We’d been shifted booths from what was previously arranged and my understanding is that it was slightly bigger.

The event itself:

Makers Central is exactly what it says on the tin, throughout the hall there are a couple of stages with talks from both high profile and lesser known folk talking about their craft in creating designs and products. The hall is well laid out with multiple displays of work and craftsmanship from sewing to woodworking. Even furnaces and iron mongering. There is quite literally something for everyone at this event who wants to learn more about different processes in creating.

The Droidbuilders UK stand was popular as ever with the builders and attendees alike, with a pretty much constant buzz around the area up until maybe the last hour where it started to ease off. With over 15 droids in attendance it made for a tight space within the area we had, but once folk got out roaming it eased the space a little. Multiple R2s were in force, 2 decades of R3X, a couple of R5s, Justin’s baby BDX droid, a variation of Choppers and Jamie’s fantastic Toolbox droid. All made for a fantastic display along with the other smaller parts and droids we had on the table.

The great thing about the NEC is the space the halls give, with plenty of space for the droids to be trundling around in, with lovely smooth floors. And most folk were gracious enough to allow droids through in some of the more confined spaces. This is a very different kind of event to the normal ‘comic con’ stye events though, with folk wanting to hear about how the droids are fabricated and with the many different types of constructed droid we had there it was a feast of information for folk.

In addition to all this, the Droidbuilders were once again responsible for the raffle, with prizes donated from stands around the event and the prize money going to the clubs charity. A total raising just shy of £400.

The event itself is well run, and very welcoming by both organisers and builders alike. It really shows, with folk coming from all corners of the country, that this club flourishes as a community. Supporting and helping each other. The social curry on the Saturday was good fun as well. The one downside – the cost, it’s not cheap to attend with having to pay for hotel and parking across multiple places – but hanging out with some of the best people is sometimes worth it